Designer Spotlight: POPOMOMO

Our good friend Kimmy Ratican sat down with creator and founder of Popomomo, Elizabeth Connolly Wasserman, to discuss fashion, art and what she would be doing if she wasn’t designing. Personally, we are beyond excited to finally find a great eco-friendly line that gets us excited to put on clothes.

When did you start Popomomo?It started as a creative outlet and a way to be more experimental than my design day-job and I made crazy one-offs and sold them in Philly and NYC, but it’s been my main gig, and a seasonal collection since around 2008-2009.

Tell us about the name?Popomomo stands for “post-post-modern movement,” because I wanted the line to move beyond the past. I still like the meaning behind the name but wish I had changed it to something else when I started doing full collections.

What is the concept of your line?I created popomomo to be the anti-thesis of disposable fashion: to create simple but sophisticated pieces that go beyond trend.

Why eco?To me, choosing the right materials and considering the whole picture is an important part of good design: I think the best materials are the ones that are sustainable.

What’s your fashion background?I have a degree in Sociology and I’m the daughter of two architects: which I think has turned out to be pretty good training to be a clothing designer!

What were doing before Popomomo?I was designing knits, prints, and artwork for Free People in Philadelphia: I also had a lot more free time before Popomomo: I used to paint before I started the line, but not anymore.

What would you do if you weren’t a designer?That’s a scary question actually…everything else I like to do is pretty much tied up in designing clothing and what goes into it: trend research, print design, drawing. If I didn’t design clothing I’d probably want to design something else. Or I’d be a private detective.

Which leads us to, why did you want to become a designer in the first place? It was the perfect combination of everything I wanted to do and everything I was good at: it’s a bit of sociology: learning about and examining people and culture, it’s a bit of art with the creative leaps, drawing and print design.

Where are your favorite places to shop in LA?I like In Residence on the Westside, Epic in Echo Park, Creatures of Comfort and Opening Ceremony in the middle: and I love the flea markets. But my favorite store is Iko Iko, it’s my friends Kristin and Shin’s store: and it’s so inspirational every time I go in there.

What’s your stress food?When I get really stressed I don’t really eat. But the rest of the time I’m obsessed with white cheddar popcorn, oranges, any kind of salsa, and I eat a serious amount of ice cream, frozen yogurt and popsicles.

What artist is on your radar right now and why?Always my husband: Isaac Resnikoff!! He has a show up in the Project Room at Steve Turner Gallery this month.
I love the photographs of Whitney Hubbs, and the paintings of Lesley Vance: they are both LA artists.
For music I’m listening to the Pablo Picasso, Raw Geronimo and Glasser. But I can’t take Diane Warwick’s “Anyone who Had a Heart” Album off the record player.

Who would you rather dress: Kirsten Dunst, Drew Barrymore or Zoe Saldana?They are all lovely and I respect the choices they’ve all made…but of the three Kristen Dunst would probably be more the “popomomo girl.”

Hemp clothing: Yay or nay?Depends on the hemp and depends on the cut!

How do you get your caffeine fix?Espresso at home in the morning, Diet Coke at the studio mid-afternoon. Every day.

Or wait, do you have some other artificial energy source we should know about?Yikes! No, should I?